We need more courses in Columbus to
keep up with the popularity of the sport. Our current courses are being over
used because there are only two free courses in Columbus Parks to serve over one
million citizens. Both courses show signs of this over use in added
wear-and-tear. WE NEED MORE!!! Please help us in our goal to grow the sport in
Columbus and Central Ohio.

Write a letter, send an e-mail, or make a phone
call to the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department or the Parks Department in
your community and inform them of the popularity of the sport and the need for
more courses!

History of Disc Golf in Columbus:

The first disc golf course in Central Ohio was High Banks
installed by the Metro Parks in the early 80's. A decision was made in the
mid 80's to remove that course and open a pay-for-play course at Blendon Woods.
That course didn't capture the full interest of the serious disc golfers in the
area. Many of us played self designed object courses at Franklin and
Griggs Reservoir Parks in order to practice shots of the length we were
encountering in tournaments held at courses in other cities. In the late
80's we (people from DGC) organized and began a letter writing campaign to the
Columbus Recreation and Parks Department. We asked all serious players to
write a letter and ask at least five others (spouses, siblings, friends,
co-workers, bosses, etc.) to do the same. After witnessing this show of
interest the CRPD offered four potential sites and we chose Hoover. We asked local Pro Brent Hambrick
to design it. He was inspired by the task and put all of his abundant
energy behind it and created a course that is still the finest in Central Ohio.
Local players paid for the equipment through sponsorship, installed the
course, and to
this day do all the maintenance other than cutting the grass and emptying the
trash. The year after the course was finished Brent Hambrick held the
first PDGA sanctioned tournament ever held in Columbus (the Columbus Open Disc Golf
Tournament). Members of the Hill Top Association from the west side of Columbus attended one of these
events and were so inspired they got permission from the CRPD for a course,
raised the money for the equipment and asked the local players to design a
course. Essentially the same group designed and installed a course at Big
Run Park on the west side of Columbus.

After more than 30 years of disc golf in
Central Ohio, there are just two courses (out of the current 21 courses) in
Parks operated by the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department. We feel the Columbus Recreation and Parks is not getting the message
about the popularity of disc golf. We also feel that there are maintenance
issues at both Hoover and Griggs that are the direct result of over-use by the
public. In some cases these same issues were cited as reasons for the removal
of the Big Run disc golf course. We say CRP should build more courses and take a
more active role with maintenance to reduce wear-and-tear and keep up with the
growing popularity of disc golf in Columbus, the United States, and the World.

If you have some spare time please write,
e-mail, or call some local officials with your concerns. If you could also
persuade as many friends and family members to do the same perhaps our
collective voice will be heard.